young entrepreneurs the key to a sustainable future

In partnership with the Foundation for Young Australians, Unilever hosted the ‘Creating a More Sustainable World’ forum to discuss social and environmental issues facing the planet, and the role young people can play in developing sustainable and inclusive business models. The forum brought government, corporate and non-profit leaders together to hear about the obstacles facing young entrepreneurs.

Topics of discussion included the need for better education around mental health for entrepreneurs, who often feel the weight of solving the world’s issues; the need for a change in the way we structure schooling, to build the skills for the future world of work; and the power of better collaboration between business and entrepreneurs.

Participants included Founder of the Institute for Global Women Leaders, Rosie O’Halloran; CEO of the Youth Food Movement, Alexandra Iljadica and connected like-minded thinkers with business leaders from Unilever, Commonwealth Bank, Kimberley Clark, MLC and Citi Australia as well as NGO’s such as WWF and Sustainable Business Australia.

“Entrepreneurs need more opportunities to share their mistakes with other entrepreneurs to normalise the fact that we aren’t perfect. It will improve mental health and ensure we don’t feel weighed down by the social issues we are trying to solve. Businesses can also play a key role connecting entrepreneurs through networking events to make collaboration easier and more effective,” said Alex Iljadica, Founding Director at Youth Food Movement Australia.

So far, local media outlets Packaging News, Food and Drink Business, Sustainability Matters, Food Magazine, Ferret, Inside FMCG, and Inside Waste have reported on the outcomes of the event.